


The Dark Places

by galaxystardust



Category: Star Trek: The Original Series
Genre: Hurt/Comfort, M/M, Mind Meld, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, T'hy'la
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-09
Updated: 2019-07-09
Packaged: 2020-06-24 23:57:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 910
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19734259
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/galaxystardust/pseuds/galaxystardust
Summary: Kirk experiences a PTSD episode after a diplomatic mission triggers the trauma he experienced as a child on Tarsus IV. Spock uses a mind meld and their connection for healing and catharsis.





	The Dark Places

**Author's Note:**

> first draft. Proof reading comments welcome.

What was planned as a routine diplomatic mission quickly became a nightmare when Spock and Captain Kirk realized that the government who had invited them was in the middle of an ethnic cleansing of another political group on the planet. The mission was aborted but not before Kirk witnessed some of the horrors. Children, elders, noncombatants, all slaughtered, but with enough left alive to instill terror. The Federation team quickly evacuated, and the Captain returned to his quarters. Spock paid no mind. Such missions would require reports and calls to headquarters, so the Captain could be tied up for a while.

At the end of the normal duty shift Spock had not heard anything from the Captain, so he went to see if perhaps the Captain might want to have dinner or a game of chess. There was no response at the Captain’s quarters. No response to calls. The computer clearly indicated that the Captain was in his quarters, but even if he was asleep he would normally wake up to answer a call. Spock let himself in, concerned that the Captain could be in need of some medical care. The room was dark and silent. Spock slowly moved through the cabin looking for where the Captain might be or any indication of what was going on. Kirk lay in the bed. Curled up in a tangle of blankets, half undressed, shoes tossed on the floor carelessly, disheveled pants hanging off the side of the bed.

“Jim…?” Spock whispered softy as he knelt down beside the bed.

“Ughhhhmmm…” came from Kirk.

“Captain? What is wrong?” Spock reached to feel Kirk’s head for fever and look for injuries, “computer increase illumination 20%.” Kirk just curled into a tighter ball. Fists clenched and tucked protectively into his chest. Spock had never seen the Captain like this. There was no clear external injuries and no indication of internal injuries. Logically it must be a mental issue. Spock laid down in the bed and wrapped his arm around to unclench Kirk’s fist.

“Jim can you hear me,” Spock whispered softly into the Captain ear. No response. Fists loosened slightly at Spock’s touch, but the body remained tense and doubled over.

‘Jim, I want to meld with you to determine the cause of your distress, “ Spock spoke with more certainty. He knew that the Captain had given him consent to connect telepathically any time it was necessary, but it still felt necessary to check. He could feel Kirk take a deep breath, so Spock reached for the psi points to connect.

Spock felt a darkness and quiet inside Kirk’s mind, unlike the usual sunshine and laughter. There was a strange chaotic barrier that Kirk had constructed in his mind. Spock could easily move through it, but it was unlike anything he had ever encountered in Kirk’s mind.

_Jim. Can you hear me?_ Spock projected out into the strange wasteland he encountered in Kirk’s mind. There was a rustling in the distance. There was a feeling of anguish, anxiety, and a deep terror. Spock searched for any indication of what might be going on. There seemed to be forms in the cloudy darkness. The massacre! Spock was seeing Jim relive the massacre from his childhood on Tarsus. The conflict on the diplomatic mission must have triggered these old memories to surface and Kirk was overwhelmed. Spock could touch the feelings but they had a strange cold distant quality. Where was Jim’s awareness?

_Jim, I’m here. Come towards my voice. I’m here to take you back to the ship. Jim, it’s Spock. Where are you?_ Spock mentally reached out and grasped the cloudy forms in search of any part of Jim he could recognize. Spock could feel Jim’s body begin to relax and Spock cradled him tighter with his free hand. Jim’s body was cooler than expected, but it did seem to respond unconsciously to Spock’s physical and mental contact. Spock let his affection flow through their telepathic connection. Jim’s fists unclenched enough for Spock to slip his hand in. Spock’s love and loyalty flowed through his hands and he immediately felt it reverberate in the Captain’s mental space.

_Jim._ It felt like the mental equivalent of eye contact. The darkness moved back enough. Spock sat the both of them up, maintaining the mental connection, resting Kirk on his lap and curled against his chest. Kirk made an audible sigh. Spock held Jim tighter in his arms and gently dialed down the mental bond. Brothers in arms. Friends. Lovers to comfort each other in these inevitable times of distress.

Spock could allow his own deep Vulcan emotional catharsis along with Jim’s. They felt each other’s feeling about the horrors they witnessed and mutually released them. Kirk cried tears for the both of them. Spock relaxed and released the memories into the infinite existence of the cosmos. Letting it all go to be handled by more appropriate authorities. Releasing the personal responsibility they both felt after meeting with the terrorist politicians. Jim’s memory of survivor guilt. Spock’s forgiveness for his dear one showing his wounds and vulnerability.

Jim stretched and reached to put his arms around Spock’s neck. He nuzzled his face into Spock’s neck and breathed a sign into Spock’s ear. Jim raised his hand for a Vulcan kiss. He could hear a bit of Spock’s laughter through their bond as Spock raised his fingers in response. _Feeling frisky?_

_Yes lover. Let’s overwhelm the pain with pleasure._


End file.
